Bedside liquid storage and dispensing apparatus



July 9, 1968 E. A. KITCHENS 3,391,830

B EDSIDE LIQUID STORAGE AND DISPENSING APPARATUS Filed March 3, 1967INVENTOR.

EVELYN A. Kl TCHENS Zia J 24A United States Patent 01 iice Patented.Fuly 9, 1968 3,391,830 BEDSIDE LIQUID STORAGE AND DISFENSING APPARATUSEvelyn Kitchens, 923 Hill Ave., Pittsburgh, Pa. 15221 Filed Mar. 3,1967, Ser. No. 620,541 13 Claims. (Cl. 222-132) ABSTRACT OF THEDISIILOSURE The device or apparatus of the invention employs a box-likevessel or primary container having a form-fitting removable top cover orlid. The primary container is designed to be placed on a bedside tableor fastened to the frame or headboard portion of a bed, and itscompartment or chamber is adapted to carry one or more cups or secondarycontainers in upright positions therein. The lid has projecting portionsthat interfit with upper open end portions of the cups to close them offwith respect to the chamber and to securely position them in aspacedapart relation therewithin. Bottom walls of the cups and of thecontainer have complementary offset portions to guidably position thecups in an upright position within the chamber. Liquid dispensing hoseand mouthpiece parts are employed by a patient to withdraw liquid fromthe cups through the lid to a convenient location. Temperatureconditioning means is adapted to be carried in the chamber to heat orcool the liquid contents of the cup to a suitable temperature.

This invention relates generally to a device or apparatus for storingliquid which has means to dispense the liquid therefrom. The inventionmore particularly pertains to a compact unit for storing drinking water,milk, or fruit juice, in order that a bedridden patient who is too illor weak to handle a drinking glass in a normal manner may withdrawliquid as needed without the aid of a nurse or attendant. The inventionis particularly intended to enable a simplified and dependable means ofmaintaining a record of the amount of liquid consumed by a patientduring a given period.

In accordance with the illustrated embodiment, cups or secondarycontainers are carried within the housing or primary container in aspaced-apart relation, in order that cooling or heating means may beplaced within the compartment or chamber of the primary container tocondition liquid being carried by the cups. Special features of theinvention include the provision of a unique mouthpiece arrangement thatacts as a mouth-actuated valve to permit liquid to be dispensed from adispensing hose in accordance with the patients requirements, andprovision of a graduated scale imprinted to extend vertically, either onthe side surface of each liquid container or cup or on the transparentside wall of the primary container, in order that the amount of theliquid in each can be quickly visually ascertained.

In recent years, overcrowing of patients into the nations hospitalfacilities has become a tremendous ,problem. This problem is compoundedby the acute shortage of trained nursing personnel 01- nurses aides.Whereas, in past years, it was possible for a nurse to attend to bothmedical requirements and frequent personal requests of patients underher care, it is now a constant challenge for a nurse to efficientlyfulfill the basic requisites of her duties. Therefore, any means bywhich a nurse can save time or reduce the steps required to do aparticular job is not only desirable but essential, and thi invention isintended to save the nurse appreciable time and steps.

In the hospital or nursing home it is part of the daily routine torefill bedside pitchers in order that each patient will have water onhand as required. In the case of a critical patient who may be confinedto an oxygen tent or be otherwise physically incapable of reaching abedside table and serving himself, or whose condition makes itinadvisable that he attempt to serve himself, it is necessary for anurse or nurses aide to be available to respond each time the patientcalls. The nurse then must either serve him water by holding a glass inposition so he can draw the water therefrom by means of a straw, or shemust obtain milk or fruit juice from a refrigerator and repat theaforementioned procedure. Although this procedure is desirable in thoseinstances where it is necessary to maintain a record of liquid intake ofthe patient, it is a procedure deplored in all instances by itsextensive consumption of time. Quite often a critical patient will beonly able to partake of liquid in small portions, requiring periods ofrest between sips and thus necessitating more frequent trips by thenurse. A nurse on night duty, who may be responsible for the care of award occupied by as many as a dozen or more patients, may find herselfbound in a continuous routine throughout the night, although only a fewof her patients are in a critical condition.

It has thus been a primary objective of my invention to devise aself-service unit, device or apparatus for dispensing liquid to ahospital patient to thereby release the nurse for more important duties;

It has also been an object of my invention to devise a bedside liquidstorage and dispensing unit, device or apparatus which may be easilyoperated by a relatively weak person who is incapable of reaching outfrom his bed to serve himself from a bedside table;

It has been a further object of my invention to provide apparatus thatwill conveniently store, cool or heat liquid at a bedside location;

It has also been an object of my invention to devise, in combinationwith bedside liquid storage dispensing apparatus, means for moreaccurately measuring the total liquid intake of a patient for a giventime so that a reliable record of a patients liquid intake may bemaintained without the need for a nurse to be on hand;

And, it has been a still further object of my invention to providebedside liquid storage and dispensing apparatus which may beinexpensively manufactured and produced, and that may be disposable, ifdesired.

In the drawings, FIGURE 1 is a plan view of a major portion of apreferred embodiment of the unit, device or apparatus of my invention;

FIGURE 2 is a side elevation in vertical section taken along line 22 ofand on the same scale as FIGURE 1 to show the internal appearance of theillustrated embodiment of my invention;

FIGURE 3 is taken along line 33 of FIGURE 1 and is an end view invertical section; in this view, a support box is illustrated;

FIGURE 4 is a side view in partial section on an enlarged scaleillustrating a special stemlike mouthpiece with a mouth-actuatednormally-closed valve part that constitutes an unique feature of myinvention; in this view the mouthpiece is shown connected to a hose;

FIGURE 5 is a side view on the scale of and taken from the left side ofthe mouthpiece shown in FIGURE 4;

FIGURE 6 is a front end view on the scale of FIG- URES 4 and 5 andshowing the mouthpiece of FIGURE 4 in a closed position;

FIGURE 7 is a front end view similar to FIGURE 6, except that it showsthe valve part of the mouthpiece in an open position to permit liquid tofiow therethrough;

FIGURE 8 is a reduced end view of a hospital bed, looking toward a footof the bed, and showing representative alternate positions at whichapparatus of my a 3 invention may be positioned for use by a patient inthe bed;

And, FIGURE 9 is a top plan view on the scale of FIGURE 1 illustrating asimplified embodiment of my invention.

As shown in FIGURES 1 and 2, the device or apparatus of the preferredembodiment of my invention has a rectangular box-like vessel, housing orprimary container 12 defining, in cooperation with a removable,form-fitting lid 14, an inner chamber 17 containing therein a pluralityof cups or secondary containers 16 for holding liquids, such as water,milk or fruit juice. Liquid placed within the cups 16 may be cooled bymeans of a coolant, such as crushed ice deposited in a space providedabout side walls of the cups 16 that are carried within the chamber 17.

The housing 12 may be positioned, as shown in FIG- URE 8, by placing iton the top surface of a bedside table T, by attaching it to a top edgeof the beds headboard H, or by attaching it to a side rail member R ofthe bedframe.

Means to dispense liquid from any one of the cups 16 employs asemi-rigid tube 20 of angular shape, shown in FIGURE 2, which leadsoutwardly from within a cup 16 to a somewhat flexible dispensing hose22. The dispensing hose 22 extends from the semi-rigid tube 20 andcarries a slender mouthpiece part 24 (see FIGURE 4) that may bemanipulated by the patient as will be hereinafter described;

With reference to the embodiment of my invention as shown in FIGURES l,2, and 3, the container 12 has a substantially elongated configuration,being in the form of a substantially deep tray, and having asubstantially planar enclosing base or bottom wall 12a. A side wall 12bextends upwardly and terminates in a continuous peripheral upper edge orlip portion 12d that defines an open mouth or top. The container 12 ispreferably formed from a rigid plastic material which may be transparentfor a purpose to be hereinafter described. The size of the container 12will be in accordance with the size and number of spaced-apart cups 16to be carried therein.

The cups 16, as shown in FIGURE 2, are preferably formed from aninexpensive transparent plastic material, in order that the level ofliquid contained in each cup may be ascertained when viewed from a sideposition. The bottom wall of each cup 16 is shown provided with acentrally-upwardly curved or offset aligning portion 16a that isrecessed or concave from its underside to cooperatively engage acomplementarily-formed mound-like or convex offset or projection 120that juts upwardly as part of the bottom wall 12a of the container 12.Guided, aligning engagement between the offset bottom wall 161: of eachcup 16 and the complementary offset, convex, moundlike, thickened,bottom wall projection 12c of the container 12 enables a rapid, accurateand proper spacedapart positioning of the cups 16 within the chamber 17of the housing 12.

The form-fitting lid 14 may be formed from a resin or plastic materialand should be of somewhat semirigid, resilient construction, such thatit can be pressure-held in place over lips 12d of the open top portionof the container 12 and can be employed to cooperate with the offsetbottom portions 12c and 16a to securely position the cups 16 within thechamber 17 of the container 12. The lid 14 is provided with a peripheralflange 14a that extends downwardly at an angle normal thereto. Theflange 14a has the characteristic of resiliency such that when the lid14 is secured over the open top of the container 12, the flange 14atends to press inwardly against the outer surface of the housing sidewall 12b on a line adjacent the peripheral lip 12d and thus assure thatthe lid 14 seals off the chamber from the atmosphere and will beresistant to accidental removal.

The underface of the lid 14 is provided with a group of spaced-apart,thickened, cup-aligning and receiving, closure and mounting projections14b, each of which has 4 an inwardly tapered or frusto-conicalconverging, circumferential edge 14d to fit within and guide the lidwith a wedging action into a proper aligning and holding position withrespect to upper, open-mouth portions of the cups 16. Each lidprojection 14b has a central opening or hole 140 therethrough to enablethe insertion of the rigid hollow tube 20 to Withdraw liquid from thecups 16. It will be noted that underface projections 14b of the closureportions of the lid 14, in cooperation with the mound-like projectionsor offsets in the floor portion 12a of the housing 12, serve to maintainthe cups 16 in a secure, upright and desired spaced-apart relationwithin the chamber 17. By providing the open top end of each cup 16 withan inside diameter slightly greater than the diameter of the circularprojection 14b, as taken at a point where the tapered edge 14doriginates, a resilient liquid and atmospheric seal or wedge fit isprovided between the lid aud the cup 16. Thus, liquid contained withineach cup 16 cannot be inadvertently spilled into the storage chamber 17.

The container 12, the lid 14, and the cups 16 may be inexpensivelyproduced so as to be disposable. This will enable a new unit, apparatusor device to be utilized for each patient and thereby obviate the needfor cleaning or sterilizing the various parts. In conjunction with theprovision of an inexpensive disposable housing 12, such as of resinmaterial, a support box, case or mount 18, as shown in FIGURE 3, may beprovided to receive the housing 12 in a slid-in fitted relation therein.The case 18 may be of any suitable material including metal and has apair of finger-like side brackets 18a that extend in a spaced apartrelation from its back wall to enable clamping attachment of the case 18to the headboard portion or side rail frame member of a bed. Although itis understood that each finger-like bracket 18a may be of a biasingspring construction, it is preferred that a retractable thumbscrew 18bbe threadably-carried in a hole through the outer end of the bracket 18ato enable a firm attachment of the apparatus to the bed and therebyeliminate the possibility of accidental dislodgment.

Although a means of dispensing liquid from a cup 16 may simply employ adispensing hose, such as flexible hose 22, having an intake end insertedthrough an opening in the lid 14, it is preferred that a substantiallyrigid angleshaped outlet feed tube 20, as shown in FIGURE 2, be utilizedwith the hose 22. The feed tube 20 enables rapid changeover from anempty cup 16 to an adjacent full cup 16. A substantially secure,resilient, press-fit may be established between the tube 20 and eachopening 140 and thus, eliminate the possibility of accidental withdrawalof the tube 20 from its installed position. The hose 22 may be of aninexpensive flexible material, such as a length of flexiblepolyethylene, and may be provided in a continuous roll to be cut tolength as desired.

A salient feature of the invention is a special mouthpiece 24, shown inFIGURES 4 through 7, that is utilized at the outer or dispensing end ofthe hose 22. As shown in FIGURE 4, the mouthpiece 24 which may beconstructed of a resilient rubber-like material, such as medium densitypolyethylene or another resin, is of an integrated or one-piececonstruction. It has a back end tubular connector orcollar portion 24a,an intermediate body portion 24b, and a fore end mouth or valve portion24d. The valve part 24d is in the form of a solid resilient block and ispreferably shaped as shown in FIGURE 6. A laterally-elongatednormally-closed slit 24e extends from the front surface and through thevalve part 24d. The slit Me is elongated in order that opposite ends areoriented toward a pair of oppositely-disposed substantially broad,planar side surfaces 24 and 24f of the valve part 24d. Lateral-inwardpressure applied simultaneously against the surfaces 24 and 24 by meansof the teeth or lips of a patient, will cause the valve part 24d totemporarily deform and thereby cause normally-closed slit 24c to deformas an opening in a configuration shown in FIGURE 7.

The intermediate valve body portion 24b extends from the back surface ofthe valve part 24d and tapers backwardly-inwardly to the back end collarportion 24a. A longitudinal bore 24c extends through the rear end collarportion 24a and thence, through the intermediate body portion 24b tocarry liquid from the dispensing hose 22 and to the valve part 240'. Theback end collar portion 24a may have an outside diameter such that theend of the dispensing hose 22 can be forced thereover to provide a tightliquid flow connection. Also, as shown in FIGURE 4, a rigid connectortube 26 may be utilized to join the back end portion 24a to the end ofthe dispensing hose 22.

The mouthpiece 24 is designed to be utilized cooperatively with theelements of the apparatus heretofore described to dispense liquid fromthe apparatus in a siphoning action. Thus, to utilize the mouthpiece 24,the container 12 in which the cups 16 are carried may be mounted, withthe cups 16 and lid 14 installed, as shown in FIGURE 2, in a positionabove the level of the p atie'nts head. This can, for example, beaccomplished, as shown by dot and dash lines in FIGURE 8, by mountingthe apparatus on the headboard H of the bed B. With the feed tubing 20in its installed position of FIGURE 2, wherein its inner end extendstowards the bottom of a liquid-containing cup 16, an end of thedispensing hose 22 may be squeezed over the outer end of the tube 26 toform a tight liquid fiow connection therewith. The outer end of the hose22 is then connected in a sealed relation to the mouthpiece 24. Then,the hose 22 with the mouthpiece 24 afiixed thereto is extended to thevicinity of the patients head. A piece of adhesive tape and a safety pinmay be utilized, if desired, at a point along the length of the hose 22as a means for fastening the hose to a pillow or sheet, so themouthpiece 24 is always within easy reach of the patient.

To prepare or prime the apparatus for dispensing liquid therefrom bymeans of a siphoning action, the patient simply places the fore end orvalve portion 24d of the mouthpiece 24 in his mouth and closes his teethor lips thereagainst to apply equal pressure against the surfaces 24fand 24 of the valve portion 24d. This action causes normallyresiliently-closed slit 24:: to assume the the shape of an openpassageway in communication with the longitudinal bore 240 that extendsrearwardly therefrom and communicates with the hose 22. With the slit 24thus opened, the patient may then apply a drawing or sucking action tothe mouthpiece, as when drinking through a straw, thereby causing liquidto move from the cup 16 outwardly through the tube 20 to the hose 22 andthence through the mouthpiece 24. After liquid from the dispensing hosehas passed through the mouthpiece 24 and through the opening in thetemporarily deformed valve portion 24d, opposed pressure against thesurfaces 24 and 24f may be removed to allow the opening to resilientlyclose and reform the slit 242.

The above riming action serves to fill the hose 22 and the bore 240 ofthe mouthpiece 24 with liquid. Thus, subsequent use of the mouthpiece 24to obtain sips of liquid from the apparatus does not require any furthersucking action, inasmuch as the volume of liquid contained in the cup 16and extending through the hose 22 and mouthpiece 24 will, by tending toseek a uniform level, freely fiow from the mouthpiece 24 each time the(resilient pressure-sealed) slit 242 is thereafter deformed to assumethe shape of an opening. To facilitate the use of the mouthpiece 24 andthe siphoning action in accordance therewith, a small aperture in theform of a pinhole 142 may be provided adjacent each opening 14c in thelid 14 (see FIGURE 2). Provision of the hole 14e enables atmosphericpressure to be continuously exerted against the surface of the liquid ineach cup 16.

An alternate methhod of utilizing the apparatus of this inventioninvolves positioning the housing or container 12 below the level of thepatients head, as may be accomplished by placing the container on a lowtable or by fastening it to the side rail R of the bed. With theapparatus thus mounted, liquid may be dispensed by the provision of amouthpiece (not shown) having a passageway that is fully open along itslength through its front end. Such an alternate mouthpiece may beprovided by substituting a substantially circular normally-open hole forthe lip-sealing slit 24s in the valve part 24d. The mouthpiece, thusmodified, may be used by the patient in the manner of a drinking strawto draw liquid from a cup 16 each time a drink is desired.

A further important feature of the device of the invention is theprovision of means to gauge or visually ascertain the quantity of liquiddispensed from each cup 16 within the housing 12. Thus, a record of apatients intake over a given period of time may be maintained. One meansof accomplishing this purpose is shown in FIGURE 2; each cup 16 may beprovided with a vertically-graduated scale S having spaced-apart,horizontally-disposed lines. If desired, the imprinted markings or linesof the graduated scale S may extend continuously around the entirecircumference of the cup 16. Provision of the container 12 with atransparent side wall 12b will enable visual ascertainment of the levelof liquid within each cup 16 and of the level or condition of a coolingmedium, such as ice, or of a heating medium, such as heated metal orstone elements in a liquid, carried within the chamber 17. It is furthercontemplated as an alternative (not shown) that the scale shown on theside surface of the cup 16 may be imprinted directly on the outer side wl surface of transparent housing 12.

As shown in FIGURE 9, a comparatively simple and inexpensive single-cupembodiment of the invention may be constructed primarily for the purposeof permitting hospital personnel to maintain an accurate record of apatients water consumption. Such a unit may be employed during thecritical period of a patients recuperation. In FIGURE 9, parts orportions of the apparatus or device are designated by prime sufiixes todistinguish from corresponding or similar parts or portions of themulti-apparatus or device of FIGURES 1 to 3. The device of FIGURES l to3 may be employed to provide a single patient with a selection ofliquids or each of several patients in one room or ward with liquid bymaking use of a group of tubular dispensing means, or may be employed toprovide one patient with a long lasting supply of liquid. The liquidcarried by the cup or cups may be maintained at a suitable temperatureby means positioned within the chamber in the spacing between the insideof the container and the outside of the cup or cups.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes andmodifications may be affected with reference to the illustratedapparatus without departing from the spirit and scope of the inventionas indicated by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A liquid dispensing device for a patient confined in bed whichcomprises, an open top container having bottom and side walls definingan inner chamber, a form fitting lid for closing off the open top ofsaid container, at least one liquid-carrying cup adapted to beremovablypositioned within said chamber, said cup having an open topportion and bottom and side walls, the bottom walls of said containerand said cup having complementary offset portions for accuratelyaligning said cup in an upright position within said chamber in a spacedrelation with respect to the side Wall of said container to provide forplacing a temperature conditioning medium for said cup within thespacing, said lid having an inwardly projecting closure portioninterfitting with the open top portion of said cup to close off itsliquid content from said chamber and the outside of said container, andtubular liquid dispensing means adapted to extend through said lid intosaid cup for Withdrawing liquid carried by said cup.

2. A liquid dispensing device as defined in claim 1 wherein said closureportion of said lid is tapered to fit within the open top portion ofsaid cup and is adapted to securely hold said cup in vertical alignmenton said complementary ofiset portions.

3. A liquid dispensing device as defined in claim 1 wherein said tubulardispensing means comprises, a feed tube extending through said lid intosaid cup, a flexible hose connected at its back end to an outer end ofsaid tube, and a mouthpiece connected to a forward end of said hose.

4. A liquid dispensing device as defined in claim 1 wherein, saidtubular dispensing means has a mouthpiece at its forward end, and saidmouthpiece has a valve part therein constructed to be opened for flow ofliquid therethrough when said mouthpiece is inserted within the mouth ofa patient.

5. A liquid dispensing device as defined in claim 4 wherein, said valvepart is of resilient construction and has a slit therethrough that isnormally closed by the resilience of said part, and said valve part hasopposed pressure surfaces at opposite ends of the slit for moving theslit into an open position upon an application of inward pressure onsaid surfaces.

6. A liquid dispensing device as defined in claim 5 wherein a small airpassageway is open through said lid to the inside of said cup, so that agravity feed action may be employed in withdrawing liquid from said cupwhen the slit of said valve part is in its open position.

7. A liquid dispensing device as defined in claim 1 wherein, the sidewall of said cup is substantially transparent, and a liquid levelindicating scale extends along the side wall to indicate the liquidcontent of said cup.

8. A liquid dispensing device as defined in claim 1 wherein the sidewalls of said cup and said container are of substantially transparentmaterial.

9. A liquid dispensing device as defined in claim 1 wherein saidcomplementary offset portions are defined by a centrally-upwardlyconcave underside in the bottom wall of said cup and by an upwardlyconvex thickened portion in the bottom Wall of said container.

10. A liquid dispensing device as defined in claim 1 wherein, a mountingcase is provided to receive said container therein, and said mountingcase has clamping means for removably-securing it in position.

11. A liquid dispensing device as defined in claim 1 wherein, saidclosure portion is defined by a thickened wall portion of said lid, theside wall of said cup is substantially circular shape, and said closureportion is of frustoconical shape to extend within the open top of saidcup in wedging engagement with the inside of the side wall of said cup.

12. A liquid dispensing device as defined in claim 1 wherein, a group ofopen top containers of the defined construction are provided, saidcontainer has a corresponding group of spaced-apart offset portions onits bottom wall and each of said cups has a complementary offset portionon its bottom wall for accurately aligning it in an upright positionwithin said chamber and in a spaced relation with respect to the sidewall of said container and with side walls of adjacent cups, said lidhas a group of spaced-apart inwardly-projecting closure portions, onefor each of said cups, that interfits within the open top portions ofsaid cups to seal them off with respect to said chamber and close themoff with respect to the outside of said container, and a group oftubular liquiddispensing means is provided, each of which extendsthrough one of said closure portions of said lid into an associated oneof said cups.

13. A liquid dispensing device as defined in claim 12 wherein, said lidis of resilient construction, a hole extends through each said closureportion of said lid in alignment with one of said cups, and a feed tubeextends through each of said holes in a resiliently sealed off relationwith respect thereto.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 327,124 7/1906 Speer 2061,188,132 6/1916 Anderson 222 157 X 2,051,013 8/1936 Schulse 222 146 X2,817,459 12/1957 Amigone 222146X 3,130,873 4/1964 Klutz 222 132 X3,160,330 12/1964 Pollitt 222416 X 3,165,241 1/1965 Curry 222 4903,178,061 4/1965 Giacalone et al. 222 146 X 3,295,715 1/1967 Pugh 22090.2 X

ROBERT B. REEVES, Primary Examiner.

N. L. STACK, Assistant Examiner.

